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Forbidden quantum leaps possible with high-resolution spectroscopyA new twist on an old tool lets scientists use light to study and control matter with 1,000 times better resolution and precision than previously possible.http://phys.org/news344519884.html
PhysicsMon, 02 Mar 2015 11:58:11 ESTnews344519884Bose-Einstein condensate could be used to observe quantum mass acquisitionA possible means of observing an exotic quantum effect that imparts mass to a normally massless particle has been proposed by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science.http://phys.org/news341225145.html
PhysicsFri, 23 Jan 2015 09:00:03 ESTnews341225145The importance of three-way atom interactions in maintaining coherenceQuantum computers will someday perform calculations impossible for conventional digital computers. But for that to happen, the core quantum information must be preserved against contamination from the environment. In other words, decoherence of qubits must be forestalled. Coherence, the ability of a system to retain quantum integrity—-meaning that one part of the system can be used to predict the behavior of other parts—-is an important consideration.http://phys.org/news338456681.html
PhysicsMon, 22 Dec 2014 08:20:04 ESTnews338456681Researchers control interplay of light and matter at the level of individual photons emitted by rubidiumResearchers led by Dr. Sebastian Slama of Tübingen University's Institute of Physics have succeeded in directing the fluorescence of ultracold atoms into surface plasmons – light waves oscillating across a metal surface. Quantum physicists aim to create tiny systems in which things such as the interplay of light and matter may be observed at the level of individual photons. Such controlled systems hold the promise of applications such as transistors and switches depending on a single photon. The results have been published online in Nature Physics.http://phys.org/news333878342.html
PhysicsThu, 30 Oct 2014 08:59:10 ESTnews333878342Cold Atom Laboratory creates atomic danceLike dancers in a chorus line, atoms' movements become synchronized when lowered to extremely cold temperatures. To study this bizarre phenomenon, called a Bose-Einstein condensate, researchers need to cool atoms to a temperature just above absolute zero - the point at which atoms have the least energy and are close to motionless.http://phys.org/news333043574.html
PhysicsMon, 20 Oct 2014 17:06:25 ESTnews333043574Cold atom laboratory chills atoms to new lows(Phys.org) —NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) mission has succeeded in producing a state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, a key breakthrough for the instrument leading up to its debut on the International Space Station in late 2016.http://phys.org/news331188570.html
PhysicsMon, 29 Sep 2014 05:49:38 ESTnews331188570A transistor-like amplifier for single photonsData transmission over long distances usually utilizes optical techniques via glass fibres – this ensures high speed transmission combined with low power dissipation of the signal. For quite some years possibilities have been explored how to go one step further and perform all-optical data processing, with optical transistors and optical logic gates. In particular in the case of quantum information this option would be highly recommendable as the information is often stored in faint light pulses which – at the ultimate limit – contain a single photon only. A team around Professor Gerhard Rempe, Leader of the Quantum Dynamics Division and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, has now made a kind of optical transistor using a cloud of ultracold rubidium atoms. With this new device they observed a twentyfold amplification of signal variations at the one-photon level.http://phys.org/news325835864.html
PhysicsTue, 29 Jul 2014 06:58:40 ESTnews325835864'Comb on a chip' powers new atomic clock designResearchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have demonstrated a new design for an atomic clock that is based on a chip-scale frequency comb, or a microcomb.http://phys.org/news325255759.html
PhysicsTue, 22 Jul 2014 13:49:37 ESTnews325255759Ultra-cold atom transport made simpleTechniques for controlling ultra-cold atoms travelling in ring traps currently represent an important research area in physics. A new study gives a proof of principle, confirmed by numerical simulations, of the applicability to ultra-cold atoms of a very efficient and robust transport technique called spatial adiabatic passage (SAP). Yu Loiko from the University of Barcelona, Spain, and colleagues have, for the first time, applied SAP to inject, extract, and filter the velocity of neutral atoms from and into a ring trap. Such traps are key to improving our understanding of phenomena involving ultra-cold atoms, which are relevant to high-precision applications such as atom optics, quantum metrology, quantum computation, and quantum simulation.http://phys.org/news323949189.html
PhysicsMon, 07 Jul 2014 10:53:25 ESTnews323949189Not much force: Researchers detect smallest force ever measuredWhat is believed to be the smallest force ever measured has been detected by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley. Using a combination of lasers and a unique optical trapping system that provides a cloud of ultracold atoms, the researchers detected a force of approximately 42 yoctonewtons. A yoctonewton is one septillionth of a newton and there are approximately 3 x 1023 yoctonewtons in one ounce of force.http://phys.org/news323014544.html
PhysicsThu, 26 Jun 2014 15:15:54 ESTnews323014544New technique could make sub-wavelength images at radio frequenciesImaging and mapping of electric fields at radio frequencies (RF) currently requires the use of metallic structures such as dipoles, probes and reference antennas. To make such measurements efficiently, the size of these structures needs to be on the order of the wavelength of the RF fields to be mapped. This poses practical limitations on the smallest features that can be measured.http://phys.org/news322226954.html
PhysicsTue, 17 Jun 2014 12:29:27 ESTnews322226954Shaken, not stirred: Control over complex systems consisting of many quantum particlesAt TU Vienna, a new method was developed to utilize quantum mechanical vibrations for high precision measurements. The well-known concept of the Ramsey interferometer is applied to a complex multi particle system consisting of hundreds of atoms.http://phys.org/news321093570.html
PhysicsWed, 04 Jun 2014 09:39:40 ESTnews321093570NIST chip produces and detects specialized gas for biomedical analysis(Phys.org) —A chip-scale device that both produces and detects a specialized gas used in biomedical analysis and medical imaging has been built and demonstrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Described in Nature Communications, the new microfluidic chip produces polarized (or magnetized) xenon gas and then detects even the faintest magnetic signals from the gas.http://phys.org/news319883696.html
PhysicsWed, 21 May 2014 09:35:14 ESTnews319883696Physicists split and collide ultracold atom clouds (w/ Video)Physicists at New Zealand's University of Otago have pushed the frontiers of quantum technology by developing a steerable 'optical tweezers' unit that uses intense laser beams to precisely split minute clouds of ultracold atoms and to smash them together.http://phys.org/news315479223.html
PhysicsMon, 31 Mar 2014 10:07:21 ESTnews315479223Atoms and light get together to form cool, complex patterns(Phys.org) —The physics behind some of nature's spectacular sights have been observed at very low temperatures - less than a thousandth of a degree away from absolute zero - by a collaboration of researchers from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK, and the Institut Non Linéaire de Nice in Sophia-Antipolis, France.http://phys.org/news314881865.html
PhysicsMon, 24 Mar 2014 12:11:18 ESTnews314881865The coldest spot in the known universeEveryone knows that space is cold. In the vast gulf between stars and galaxies, the temperature of gaseous matter routinely drops to 3 Kelvin, or 454 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.http://phys.org/news310644384.html
Astronomy & SpaceMon, 03 Feb 2014 11:00:02 ESTnews310644384Teaching matter waves new tricks: Making magnets with ultracold atomsMagnets have fascinated mankind for millenia. From the Greek philosophers to scientists of the modern era, which saw the rise of quantum mechanics, magnets have been pondered and investigated. Nowadays, they are not only intriguing oddities of nature, but also constitute crucial building blocks of modern technology: Ranging from data storage over medical instrumentation to transportation. And yet, to this day, they continue to puzzle scientists.http://phys.org/news304678273.html
PhysicsTue, 26 Nov 2013 08:52:25 ESTnews304678273New compact atomic clock design uses cold atoms to boost precision(Phys.org) —Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a compact atomic clock design that relies on cold rubidium atoms instead of the usual hot atoms, a switch that promises improved precision and stability.http://phys.org/news302942289.html
PhysicsWed, 06 Nov 2013 06:38:18 ESTnews302942289A single-atom light switchWith just a single atom, light can be switched between two fibre optic cables at the Vienna University of Technology. Such a switch enables quantum phenomena to be used for information and communication technology.http://phys.org/news302872552.html
PhysicsTue, 05 Nov 2013 11:16:08 ESTnews302872552Spinning atoms in light crystals(Phys.org) —After more than 40 years of intense research, experimental physicists still seek to explore the rich behaviour of electrons confined to a two-dimensional crystalline structure exposed to large magnetic fields. Now a team of scientists around Prof. Immanuel Bloch (Chair for Experimental Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and Director at MPQ) in collaboration with the theoretical physicist Dr. Belén Paredes (CSIC/UAM Madrid) developed a new experimental method to simulate these systems using a crystal made of neutral atoms and laser light. In such artificial quantum matter, the atoms could be exposed to a uniform effective magnetic field several thousand times stronger than in typical condensed matter systems.http://phys.org/news302339602.html
PhysicsWed, 30 Oct 2013 08:13:46 ESTnews302339602Scientists directly observe bound states of elementary magnets in ferromagnetic quantum crystalsSimulating solid state properties with precisely controlled quantum systems is an important goal of the Quantum Many-Body Systems Division at MPQ. Now the team around Professor Immanuel Bloch (Chair for Experimental Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and Director at MPQ) has come again a step closer to it – to be precise, to the understanding of processes in ferromagnetic solid state crystals in which elementary excitations, so-called magnons, can emerge. About 80 years ago the German physicist Hans Bethe deduced from a theoretical model that in one-dimensional ferromagnets two of those elementary magnetic excitations can form a bound state. Like two tiny bar magnets, two atoms can stick together and form a new particle that propagates in the crystal. The MPQ team has now succeeded to observe these most elementary mobile magnetic domains, the two-magnon states, directly and to resolve their dynamics with time-resolved measurements. This study complements conventional spectroscopy in solid state crystals which yields information on momentum and frequency of the magnetic excitations. Bound states of excitations can influence the thermal conductance properties of low-dimensional ferromagnets or the propagation speed of quantum information in magnetic wires.http://phys.org/news299407751.html
PhysicsThu, 26 Sep 2013 09:49:25 ESTnews299407751Scientists uncover relationship between lavas erupting on sea floor and deep-carbon cycleScientists from the Smithsonian and the University of Rhode Island have found unsuspected linkages between the oxidation state of iron in volcanic rocks and variations in the chemistry of the deep Earth. Not only do the trends run counter to predictions from recent decades of study, they belie a role for carbon circulating in the deep Earth. The team's research was published May 2 in Science Express.http://phys.org/news286733759.html
EarthThu, 02 May 2013 17:16:07 ESTnews286733759Don't call it vaporware: Scientists use cloud of atoms as optical memory device (w/ video)(Phys.org) —Talk about storing data in the cloud. Scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have taken this to a whole new level by demonstrating that they can store visual images within quite an ethereal memory device—a thin vapor of rubidium atoms. The effort may prove helpful in creating memory for quantum computers.http://phys.org/news284290875.html
PhysicsThu, 04 Apr 2013 10:41:27 ESTnews284290875Optical random access memory: Parts of images can be selectively retrieved from an atomic gas(Phys.org) —The sequence of images that constitute Hollywood movies can be stored handily on solid-state media such as magnetic tape or compact diskettes. At the Joint Quantum Institute images can be stored in something as insubstantial as a gas of rubidium atoms. No one expects a vapor to compete with a solid in terms of density of storage. But when the "images" being stored are part of a quantum movie—-the coherent sequential input to or output from a quantum computer—-then the pinpoint control possible with vapor will be essential.http://phys.org/news283679440.html
PhysicsThu, 28 Mar 2013 08:50:51 ESTnews283679440Physicists achieve elusive 'evaporative cooling' of moleculesAchieving a goal considered nearly impossible, JILA physicists have chilled a gas of molecules to very low temperatures by adapting the familiar process by which a hot cup of coffee cools.http://phys.org/news275137935.html
PhysicsWed, 19 Dec 2012 13:00:06 ESTnews275137935Disappearing light: Precision measurement of an atomic transition(Phys.org)—Modern precision measurements are spectacular feats of engineering. An excellent example is determining the passage of time. Before John Harrison's marine chronometer in the mid 18th century, ship clocks lost so much time that the sailors themselves often became lost as well. Today's global positioning system (GPS) relies on rubidium and cesium atomic clocks aboard satellites. These clocks, precise to about one second per 30,000 years are far better than those used in the early days of navigation. Currently, the most accurate clock in the world is located at NIST in the lab of 2012 Nobel Prize recipient David Wineland. He uses quantum logic and an atomic ion to make a clock that is off by only one second over about 4 billion years. While not every application requires a clock of this caliber, scientists are continually looking to improve time-keeping, whether it is for defining the second* or for GPS. One essential ingredient for improvement is a better understanding of the properties of the atoms used in these types of clocks.http://phys.org/news274014789.html
PhysicsThu, 06 Dec 2012 11:13:26 ESTnews274014789New methods for ion coolingAmong the most important techniques developed in atomic physics over the past few years are methods that enable the storage and cooling of atoms and ions at temperatures just above absolute zero. Scientists from Bangalore and Mainz have now demonstrated in an experiment that captured ions can also be cooled through contact with cold atoms and may thus be stored in so-called ion traps in a stable condition for longer periods of time. This finding runs counter to predictions that ions would actually be heated through collisions with atoms. The results obtained by the joint Indo-German research project open up the possibility of conducting future chemical experiments to generate molecular ions at temperatures as low as those that prevail in interstellar space.http://phys.org/news273156285.html
PhysicsMon, 26 Nov 2012 13:00:01 ESTnews273156285'Super atoms': Rydberg excitations form ordered structures in a quantum gas due to long-range interactions(Phys.org)—Future computers are expected to use the laws of quantum physics to accomplish certain tasks in the blink of an eye that require decades for present-day computers. Physicists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching near Munich, have now gained fundamental insights into a particular kind of atomic ensemble – a so-called Rydberg gas – that might play a role in the future design of a quantum computer. They observed how "super atoms" formed in the gas and ordered themselves in geometric shapes such as triangles and squares. In future, the researchers intend to control the number and geometric configuration of these super atoms. That would be an important step towards a scalable system for quantum information processing.http://phys.org/news272879783.html
PhysicsFri, 23 Nov 2012 07:56:49 ESTnews272879783Quantum teleportation between atomic ensembles demonstrated for first time(Phys.org)—One of the key components of quantum communication is quantum teleportation, a technique used to transfer quantum states to distant locations without actual transmission of the physical carriers. Quantum teleportation relies on entanglement, and it has so far been demonstrated between single photons, between a photon and matter, and between single ions. Now for the first time, physicists have demonstrated quantum teleportation by entangling two remote macroscopic atomic ensembles, each with a radius of about 1 mm.http://phys.org/news272554871.html
PhysicsMon, 19 Nov 2012 13:41:51 ESTnews272554871Using laser beams, scientists generate quantum matter with novel, crystal-like properties(Phys.org)—Both high-valued diamond and low-prized graphite consist of exactly the same carbon atoms. The subtle but nevertheless important difference between the two materials is the geometrical configuration of their building blocks, with large consequences for their properties. There is no way, any kind of matter could be diamond and graphite at the same time.http://phys.org/news270985124.html
PhysicsThu, 01 Nov 2012 10:38:54 ESTnews270985124